Antoher Lazy Cook's Recipe

Who doesn’t love lasagna?   I never particularly cared for it growing up.  My mom always used cottage cheese in her recipe and it grossed me out.   My mother-in-law always used a ricotta filling, which I liked a lot better.  When I got married, I sort of married the two recipes and came up with my own version.  Oh yea, I also made a simple version for someone who doesn’t want to spend all that time layering noodles. 

 

Lazy Lasagna

1 lb. your favorite pasta, cooked and drained

Sauce

½ lb. 85 % hamburger
½ lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup white wine
2 cans your favorite tomato sauce
1 pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese

Lasagna Filling

2 lb. Ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup parmesan cheese
Mix ingredients together, use for cheese layer in lasagna. Also use for filling in manicotti or stuffed shells. 

Start by making the sauce.   In sauce a pan cook off hamburger in loose form.  Drain off extra fat if needed, set aside.   Next, do the same with the sausage, drain off extra fat if needed, set aside.  

In sauce pan add two tablespoons of olive oil.  Sauté onion and garlic just until onion is translucent.  Add the hamburger and sausage back into the pan.  Add the two cans of sauce, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil.  Cook for 30 minutes on low to medium heat.  

Preheat oven to 350°.  

In large pot of boiling, salted water, cook your favorite pasta, just until al dente and drain.   

While the pasta is cooking mix the filling in an appropriate sized bowl and set aside.

Place pasta in a large bowl and mix with just enough sauce to coat the pasta.

Spray the bottom and sides of a large oven proof dish. Layer half of the pasta in the bottom of the ovenproof dish.  Sprinkle with half of the parmesan cheese. Next, add a layer on the lasagna filling spreading as evenly as possible. Then top that layer with the remaining pasta, another sprinkling of the parmesan and finally topping with the mozzarella cheese.  

Cover with wax paper and a layer of aluminum foil.  Bake in over for 30-45 minutes.  Removing both the wax and aluminum foil for the last 10-15 minutes.  

 

 

Notes/swaps

·         I like to use smaller pastas like, penne, elbows or even rigatoni.

·         I always set the table with some extra sauce.






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Easy Peasy Nice and Easy

What is not to love about Eggplant Parmesan?  The work.   The work is what I don't love.   Dipping in flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs followed by the deep frying of the masses.   Taste so good but a heck of a lot of work.   Well this recipe gives you the same taste if not even better without all the work and all that grease.  Really!

Easy Eggplant Parm

1-2 Eggplants (small in size)

4-5 Tomatoes (similar size as eggplant), sliced thin
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt for soaking
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray

 

Process Eggplant: I choose smaller, firm eggplants.  Cut off the ends and slice into ¼ or ½ inch slices.  Place in large bowl.  Sprinkle with large amount of salt.   Fill bowl with water, eggplant will float.  Cover with plate and weight it down.  This method seems to draw out the bitterness in the eggplant.  Let them soak for a minimum of thirty minutes.  The water will turn black.    Drain the eggplant and pat dry with paper towels.    

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover 1-2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil and coat the foil with a thin layer of olive oil.   Lay the slices of eggplant onto the cookie sheet in a single layer.   Spray the slices lightly with olive oil cooking spray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  

 

Using a regular teaspoon, top each slice of eggplant with a scant amount of bread crumbs.  

 

 

Next place one slice of tomato onto each slice of eggplant. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper.   

 

Using the teaspoon again, top each tomato with a liberal amount of parmesan cheese.   Spray with light coat of cooking spray.     

Place sheet tray in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and a golden brown.   Remove from oven and serve.  

 

 

Notes/swaps

• Be sure to soak and pat dry the eggplant.
• Use smaller, firm eggplants.
• Use similar sized tomatoes.
• Haven't tried it yet, but I suppose you could add some shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

These taste even better the next day. 

 

 



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Milk Gravy is the base for Sausage and Biscuits, Cod Fish Gravy, Hamburger Gravy or Dried Beef Gravy

This is a recipe from my Mom’s collection.  She was a great cook. She always made delicious food and enough of it to feed a small army. Maybe because she had a small army of her own, there were ten of us kids.   She is no longer with us. God Bless her soul. I have many memories of her preparing and cooking many meals.  She would use this really large copper bottom frying pan and make the best fried chicken in it.  Although I watched her do it many times, I have never been able to duplicate it.   She also cooked many meals in cast iron pans. I remember her showing me how to brown the flour in the cast iron pan to make brown gravy (one of my least favorites).   She was great at making penny pinching meals and milk gravy was a basic recipe that she changed out often to get different flavors.

Sometimes she would add crumbled breakfast sausage for Sausage Biscuits and Gravy.   Other times she would add dried beef for Chipped Beef Gravy and Toast.  Or sometimes she would buy Salted Cod in the little wooden box and make Cod Fish Gravy to have over boiled potatoes.  There were times she even added ground hamburger for a Hamburger Gravy.    I remember all of them being delicious.     So when I was feeling a little nostalgic and missing my momma, I decided to try one of her old recipes.   Today’s choice was her version of Chipped Beef Gravy over Pumpernickel Toast served with spring peas and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and balsamic glaze.  

Chipped Beef Gravy

 

 

Milk Gravy Recipe

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pan drippings (bacon drippings or sausage drippings)*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk or heavy cream  room temperature
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, combine bacon or sausage dripping and flour; stirring constantly until the flour has absorbed all the drippings.  Cook for a few minutes just to cook out the starchy taste.  

Gradually add the milk or cream, stirring constantly until all is added, and cook until the gravy is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

At this point you can serve it as is or you can add: 

 

dried beef
pre-cooked breakfast sausage
browned hamburger
Cod fish 

If you are using dried beef or salted cod, be sure to rinse them several times to remove the salt they are packed in. 

Makes enough gravy for 10 to 12 homemade biscuits.

Notes/Swaps

·         You can use the drippings from any meat, but bacon and sausage are the traditional ones used.






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